Kisses and Motor Oil
by poisonivy231
Summary: Blaine joins Kurt in the shop for a day, but the summer air and smell of motor oil, although appealing when it comes to his boyfriend, only serve to remind him of his father. Kurt is more perceptive than Blaine gives him credit for.


_A/N: This is the slightly shorter, smut-free version of this fic. If you want the full one, it can be found on my profile, entitled More Kisses and Motor Oil_

_A little bit of summer Klainin' for your souls._

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><p><em>Kisses and Motor Oil<em>

The air of the shop was thick, the same temperature as Blaine's mouth as he breathed it in. Summer made the sounds of spanners cranking duller and the smell of motor oil sharper. He spotted the back of his boyfriend in one of the corners, bent as he leaned under the hood of a car. Kurt's overalls were unzipped, pushed down to his hips, leaving his torso clothed only in a white vest with a few streaks of black from a day in the shop. Blaine walked up behind him, knowing Kurt would be completely focused on the car, the world out of the engine nonexistent to him. It was this that allowed Blaine to slip his arms around Kurt's waist before the other boy noticed him.

Kurt gasped and straightened before he realised he would hit his head that way. All the same, the movement pressed his back into Blaine's chest and they both gasped this time. Blaine kissed the nape of Kurt's neck languorously, glad Burt's assistant was the only one in the garage and was currently on a sliding board under another car.

"Hi," Blaine whispered before licking the vertebra that formed a ridge at the base of Kurt's neck. Kurt groaned at the heat of Blaine's tongue and the sudden coolness that followed it when Blaine stopped, leaving Kurt's skin wet.

"Hi," Kurt replied, his voice quiet. He reached an arm up behind him, grasping the back of Blaine's head and tilting it down so he could kiss him. "So," he said when he pulled away, "is this how we're greeting each other from now on?"

"I couldn't resist. You look surprisingly sexy in overalls."

Kurt wrinkled his nose and turned back to the car. "I'm disgusting. I don't even want to think about how sweaty I am right now. You should probably step away."

Blaine just licked Kurt's exposed shoulder, loving the tangy taste of Kurt's skin. He'd never thought another person's sweat could be attractive, but Kurt managed it. "Mmm, but you taste so good."

Kurt dropped his wrench and had to quickly catch it again. "Blaine," he hissed, "you can't _say_ things like that. Not here."

Blaine whined and licked behind Kurt' ear before sucking the tip of the shell into his mouth and enjoying the way Kurt's hips pressed back into his own. "Why?" He tilted his head so he was speaking directly into Kurt's ear. "Does it turn you on?"

Kurt moaned and dropped his head back onto Blaine's shoulder. "You're making it really hard to concentrate."

"So don't bother. Come out to lunch with me."

Kurt kissed the side of Blaine's neck and lifted his head. "You're so irresponsible. If only the Council could see you now."

"I'd rather they didn't." Blaine pressed his hips forwards into Kurt, trying to make it seem accidental, but Kurt knew better.

"Stop it," he said, pushing at Blaine's arms weakly. "I _can't_. I have to at least fix this before I get a lunch break."

"Eugh, _fine_." Blaine pushed himself away from Kurt. "I'll help you."

Kurt raised his eyebrows.

"Come on, Kurt, I've told you the Father Trying to Make Me Straight with Manly Car Building story. It'll make it faster."

Blaine saw the flicker in Kurt's eyes and he knew the other boy wanted to apologise for making Blaine remember that summer. Thankfully, he didn't, as Blaine was training him out of apologising for things he hadn't done or weren't his fault.

"Okay. Pass me the carburettor."

"_What's that again?" Blaine bit his lip, staring at the pile of parts on the floor of his garage. His father chuckled behind him and pointed at one of them._

"_That one, Blaine."_

"_Sorry."_

"_Don't worry about it." He clapped his son on the shoulder. "You can't remember everything straight away. Now, you ready to get your hands dirty?"_

Blaine handed Kurt the part and began to examine the inside of the car. He was trying to push thoughts of his father out of his head and concentrate on the car, on Kurt. "What's wrong, then?"

Kurt rapidly explained the problem, but Blaine had been unprepared for the amount of jargon the other boy used. He just stared at Kurt blankly.

"Oh, never mind," Kurt huffed with an affectionate eye roll. "Just do what I tell you, okay?"

"_Just do exactly what I say. That goes there. No, a bit to the left. That's it, son. See? You'll be able to do this in your sleep soon. Good trick to show a girl, believe me. They lap it up." Edward laughed again and patted Blaine's back._

_He didn't notice how Blaine's jaw had tensed and his fingers were now white where they gripped the carburettor. "What do I do now?" Blaine asked, trying to keep his voice level._

Blaine followed Kurt's instructions to the letter, ignoring the memories trying to battle their way into his head. He forced himself to glance at Kurt at regular intervals. This was Kurt. This was not his father. They were in love, it was summer, the day was perfect.

"Blaine. _Blaine_."

Blaine snapped his head up, seeing Kurt staring at him with a frown. "Sorry, sorry. What were you saying?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just hot. What were you saying?"

"_I've got some lemonade for my boys," Blaine's mother called as she walked into the garage, tray in hand._

"_Thank you, darling." His father kissed her cheek and took a glass, slapping her lightly on the bum. "You're wonderful."_

_She giggled and tried to give a reprimanding look. "Hush. Blaine, here's yours." She held out the glass to Blaine, the condensation dripping down the sides in the summer heat, and he took it with an expression of thanks._

"_I was just telling Blaine how girls love a man who can fix a car. Wouldn't you agree, darling?" Edward's eyes were dancing and his grin was cheeky as he looked at his wife, but her expression had suddenly become forced. Her eyes flicked to Blaine, who was staring at the floor and drinking his lemonade in silence._

"_Who doesn't love a man who can fix a car, male or female?" She kept her tone light and her grin wide, but when she caught Blaine's eye he could see that it was fake. She was trying to be kind, trying to help him._

_His father just huffed and took a sip from his glass. Blaine smiled gently. "Thanks, mom," he whispered._

"You're turning it the wrong way. Really, Blaine, are you sure you're alright? You look kind of dazed. Do you want something to drink?"

Blaine blinked, attempting to clear his head. "Um, yeah. That would be great."

Kurt leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Okay, give me a minute."

"Kurt!" Blaine called as his boyfriend walked towards the small kitchen at the back. "No lemonade."

Kurt looked concerned again, but he nodded.

"_How was it?" his mother asked when he flopped into a chair at a kitchen table._

"_I feel straighter already." Blaine let his head hang back and stared at the ceiling as he let out harsh breath which was almost a laugh._

"_Oh, Blaine, honey…"_

"_Don't worry about it."_

_She took his hand, stroking the back of it with her thumb gently. "Do you want me to talk to him? I tried before, but I'll do it again."_

_Blaine lifted his head to look at his mother. Her eyes were giving him the same look they had in the garage earlier and she was squeezing his hand a little too tight. He shook his head. "No, let him have this. Maybe he'll start to get it when I'm still gay at the end of it all."_

"Come on, there's no point in trying to finish this now. My dad won't kill me for eating." Kurt straightened up from the car and put his hands on his hips.

"Are you sure?" Blaine asked, confused as to why Kurt had changed his mind.

"Yes. Take me somewhere nice." He glanced down at his outfit. "Oh, God, no. Take me somewhere horrible where there's no-one I know."

Blaine laughed and walked around the car to pull Kurt into his arms. "You look beautiful."

Kurt twined his arms behind Blaine's neck and kissed the tip of his nose. "Don't think flattery will get you out of buying me lunch."

"You're not cheap, are you?"

"Blaine, have you _seen_ my wardrobe?"

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><p>The moment they had placed their orders in the tiny diner Blaine would never have thought he could drag Kurt to even with promises of money and McQueen, Kurt turned to the other boy with a serious expression. "What's wrong? And don't tell me you're fine, because you're not. You've been out of it since we started on the car."<p>

Blaine fiddled with his paper napkin nervously, trying to appear as though he was not fussed in the slightest. "No, I haven't."

"Blaine, I told you that I am secretly a whore who happens to love sucking blood and you didn't even blink. In fact, you didn't even look at me. You just kept turning the wrench the wrong way."

"Oh." Blaine tore a piece off the napkin, then started to shred it. "I…I guess I was. Out of it, I mean."

Kurt reached across the table and stilled Blaine's hands. Blaine dropped the shreds of napkin immediately and Kurt took the chance to lace their fingers together. "Were you thinking about your dad?"

Blaine continued to stare at the table. "When did you start reading my thoughts?"

"When I fell in love with you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you fix the car with me."

Blaine pulled Kurt's hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. "You're ridiculous, you know that?" He looked up finally to see Kurt with a worried expression that reminded him painfully of his mother. "I practically forced you to let me help you. It's not your fault in any way. I'm just… I was being stupid. I shouldn't let him get to me like that."

"You're not—"

Kurt was interrupted by their waitress placing two burgers in front of them. "Enjoy," she called, already turning back to the kitchens.

"Thanks," Kurt muttered, rolling his eyes and then looking at his burger in disgust. "I can't believe I actually love you enough to let you take me here."

Blaine grinned at him. It was not quite as winning as normal, but it was still there. "Kurt, can we just eat and not talk about my father, please?"

Kurt considered his boyfriend for a second. He thought about whether he could simply not return to the garage that afternoon, whether his dad would notice. He decided he didn't care. "Okay. But afterwards, we're going to talk."

Blaine was very accomplished at distracting his boyfriend. He somehow managed to convince Kurt to go to a playground – "Seriously, Kurt, five-year-olds do not care what you're wearing unless they're the past you" – and play on the swings with him. Kurt let Blaine deceive himself into thinking he'd escaped having to 'talk' for a couple of hours and just enjoyed the company of the other boy. Kurt had foolishly promised his father he would help out at the shop that summer, so he and Blaine had very little time to spend together without a mechanic looking over their shoulders. Blaine had come by almost every day, but Kurt had never just left work to be with him before. He supposed they deserved some respite, and those few hours pretending to be kids again acted as that.

Eventually, he forced Blaine to lie down in the grass with him, their heads close together and their eyes shielded from the sun by the shade of a beech tree. He threaded their fingers together and raised their hands towards the sky, elbows pressing into the earth.

"What did he say to you back then?"

Blaine knew he had just been allowing himself to believe that Kurt had forgotten their planned conversation, but it didn't make the prospect any more pleasant. "He didn't sayanything directly. Nothing you could…nothing you could take him to court for. He would just drop hints or make pointed comments. In many ways, that was worse. At least when it's direct, you can fight back. When someone is passively insulting you and every person you will ever love, it's horrible. You can't call them out on it because they can just deny it. It wasn't directed at you, you took it the wrong way, whatever they want to say. And my father is particularly accomplished at avoiding blame for things."

Kurt let their hands lower to the ground and turned on his side to face Blaine. He pressed his lips gently against his boyfriend's cheek and let his nose rest there, just touching Blaine's skin. "You're so strong, Blaine. You say you're weak, that you ran to Dalton, but it's just not true. If I didn't have my dad, my life would have fallen apart by now. I need his support to help me through the days when I wish I never had to leave the house. I don't know how you can live without that and still be as confident and kind as you are."

Blaine turned his head so the side of his nose was resting against Kurt's. "I'm not strong, Kurt. Not really. I act like I am, but I'm just as scared as the rest of the world. My mother…she tried, you know. She really tried to make him listen, but he was in that mindset and that was that. Is…is it strange that I respect her for not leaving him?"

Blaine could feel Kurt's frown where their noses were pressed together. The skin pulled tighter and he could imagine exactly the face Kurt would be making.

"I don't know your reasons, so I couldn't say."

Blaine kissed Kurt's cheek. "She didn't just abandon him because of his intolerance. People would say she should, but she…She always reminds me, reminds herself that she loves him, because she does. She loves him, she married him for a reason, and she therefore has faith that he will, to quote her, 'become the man she saw he would be when she married him.' Maybe she should just end it because he doesn't accept his own son, no matter how much he might pretend. But she doesn't because she trusts in him. Or the future him. Or the him that the past him had the potential to become."

Kurt didn't want to break the contact of their hands even though he wanted to stroke Blaine's cheek. He settled for running his thumb across the back of his boyfriend's hand. "I've never heard of anyone thinking that way before. It always seems to be the mother doesn't leave because they are homophobic too, or they're afraid of what their husband will do to them. I can understand why you would respect her for staying true to those she loves. But don't you sometimes…resent that she won't—?"

"No," Blaine said, stopping Kurt before he could say anymore. He pressed their lips together lightly. "I could never resent her for being in love. And every time I think about her leaving him, I think about how, that way, he would never be able to change. He would blame the break-up of his marriage on his gay son, and he'd never learn to see the world any differently from how he sees it now. I trust that one day she'll show him and then…then he'll accept me. Maybe that's hopeful and stupid, but love has a great deal of power."

Kurt moved a little bit closer to Blaine so that their chests were just touching. "It's not stupid. You know how much faith I put in love."

Kurt felt Blaine's smile against his own cheek. "I do." They kissed again. "He does love me, you know. We can still have conversations and watch football games together. There are times when I forget the way he acts because he's just being my father again. It's only occasionally that his…views become a problem." Blaine pressed his forehead against Kurt's. "Those times really hurt, though."

Kurt could wholeheartedly empathise with those emotions. He may have a supportive father and friends who loved him deeply, but each time someone glared at him in the hallway or whispered a slur under their breath, it cut at him. He understood how Blaine felt, but he couldn't think of adequate words to comfort him. Instead, he pressed their lips together, initiating a kiss harder than any they had had that day. He pushed Blaine onto his back in the grass and hovered over him, not breaking the contact even when he knew that Blaine was crying.

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><p><em>Author's Note: This was the first more-Blaine-centric fic that I wrote, so it's quite important to me in that way. I'd love to hear what you thought of it.<em>


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